It is known in the art to steep woven or non-woven webs or knitted goods of various materials in reactive resins, varnishes or polymer solutions and then, after shaping the textiles to solidify them by a hardening reaction (e.g. irradiation with UV light) or by evaporation of the solvent so that they can be used as a dimensionally stable constructional material. It is also known to impregnate woven, non-woven or knitted fabrics with molten high-molecular weight substances and shape then in the hot state and then allow them to solidify by cooling. Lastly, it is known to coat woven or non-woven webs with inorganic dry materials which are stable in storage; these dry materials subsequently setting when moistened with water and thereby imparting strength to the shaped material.
All these processes, however, have disadvantages which stand in the way of economic convenient and, above all, physiologically harmless application. The impregnated webs either still contain volatile monomers or solvents, which may be undesirable for physiological or safety reasons or are unstable in storage. Additionally, the impregnated webs may require moistening with water or solvents, which must subsequently be removed after application by exposure to heat or by the use of mechanical devices which may for example, make it impossible or difficult to use them in contact with human skin.